DIVERSITY AT PENN LAW

Adnan A. Zulfiqar '08

Diversity will make or break your law school experience. With an identity that claims South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Islamic faith, being a minority culturally and religiously has always been my reality. Throw in an eclectic set of intellectual interests and political views and the complexities only increase. I needed a law school equipped to offer me diversity and flexible enough to accommodate "my" diversity.

Penn Law has done that and more. As President of the Penn Muslim Law Students Association, I have witnessed first-hand how Penn Law creates "space" for communities often marginalized everywhere else.

When we needed a place to pray, the Dean of Students found space. When we noted how low the Muslim enrollment was, the Dean of Admissions helped us find ways to increase it. When the students of color organizations expressed the need to endow the Sadie Alexander Civil Rights Chair, the Dean of the Law School gave his commitment to make it happen. Organizations like the United Law Students of Color, the Black Law Students Association and South Asian Law Students Association have all given me the space and support to further my legal education.

The diversity also extends to intellectual pursuits. In the fall of my first year, I inquired about dual degree programs and now I am also pursuing a joint Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations. That spring, I traveled to Havana as part of Penn's Cuba Law Project and met with judges, lawyers and professors to learn more about the Cuban legal system. My first year summer, the Public Service Program helped me pursue an internship with the Legal Resources Centre in Pretoria, South Africa. This past year I worked with the Criminal Law Research Group, drafting the Criminal Code for the Maldives Islands, helping craft a synthesis between Islamic and American law.

Students here are not only passive observers of diversity, but active participants in it. Classroom discussions on heated topics, from affirmative action to Palestinian self-determination, do not translate into bitter rivalries; intellectual engagement at Penn Law does not mean ideological antagonism. Simply put, diversity is a lived experience at Penn, not just a line in an admissions brochure.